Council expected to reject York PBSA
Despite the acknowledged need for student accommodation in the city, Study Inn’s application for a 110-bed, four-storey block at 5 James Street is set for a knock-back at the council’s meeting on Thursday.
The site is currently occupied by a motorcycle showroom, which was going to be demolished to make way for the city’s latest PBSA offering.
The proposal includes plans for an on-site health spa, gym, and games room, with bedrooms divided between studio rooms and shared cluster apartments comprising six bedrooms, a communal kitchen, and living room each.
Bedrooms would be on the upper three floors, with the residential amenities on ground level.
A report by the council, however, notes that the overall footprint of the building is too large, leaving little space for ‘meaningful’ landscaping.
Added to which, the report criticises the lack of amenity space and the small size of the individual bedrooms – including the single aspect outlook, which predominantly overlooks the bus depot.
The report concludes that ‘the poor quality amenity space and limited landscaping does little to create a suitable living environment’, indicating the council’s wish to push for grade A offerings in the city.
Another PBSA scheme to be refused recently by York City Council was from developer Danehurst, which had been in pre-application discussions with the council since 2022 for its plans for a 220-bed scheme on 17-27 Layerthorpe, situated just outside of the city centre and next to the River Foss.
Danehurst Development was also looking to looking to demolish a vehicle showroom and build the student accommodation on the site, however a risk of flooding, with almost all of the site in Flood Zone 3, put a stop to plans.
